Not in League for the Extraordinary Gentleman

books:


	• The Italian Secretary: A Further Adventure of Sherlock Holmes Caleb Carr Carroll & Graf, 2005 - 256 pages average customer review:based on 87 reviews view larger image
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Come Watson - The Games Afoot

"Come Watson, the games afoot" - Holmes and Watson are off to Scotland at the behest of Holmes's brother Mycroff to save the Queen.

Caleb Carr's The Italian Secretary is a fun read that those who love period mysteries and the Sherlock Holmes stories will find hard to put down. While parts of Carr's uniqueness come through, he has mastered the rhythm and style of Arthur Conan Doyle enough to take one back to the old masterpieces.

Take it in hand for a time of enjoyment escaping from the pace of modern life and pressure of the moment. But a warning - it does keep one on the edge of their seat.

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A good effort at a difficult task

Caleb Carr makes a good effort here at a very difficult task. Not only does Carr take on the daunting job of resurrecting one of literature's most identifiable figures, he also goes against his own strengths as a writer to do so. Carr's forte always has been his in-depth characterizations, where as in a Holmes' book, the plot is the main thing. Also, this book is much shorter than Carr's regular work. I read, however, that this was to be a short story but it grew to a novel length and thus had to be published as a free standing piece. Overall, Carr has done a good job of providing a Sherlockian story. It was worth the time to read this credible effort.

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Not in League for the Extraordinary Gentleman

As a longtime fan of Sherlock Holmes, I was excited about the prospects of reading this novel. Though I have yet to read any of Caleb carr's other work, I had noted the critical acclaim for his other novels, especially The Alienist: A Novel and The Angel of Darkness. I was also intrigued about the story as it took place in Scotland. With all these things to look forward to, I must admit I was disappointed with The Italian Secretary. There were some very fine parts, in particular the last two chapters, even though they may not have rung totally true to form for Sir A. Conan Doyle. Mycroft Holmes and Dr. Watson are present and deeply involved in this mystery. The story fell flat in several places, yet overall, I think the book was a worthy diversion. I place it somewhere between 2 and 3 stars.

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The Secrets of Holyroodhouse

Caleb Carr initially captured my attention with his historical mystery novels, The Alienist and The Angel of Darkness....both thrilling and engaging works of fiction....which gave way to the deplorable Killing Time, and seemingly the disappearance of Mr. Carr from popular fiction.

However, the author himself returns to life as does one of the greatest fictional detectives of all time, Sherlock Holmes, in Carr's 'The Italian Secretary'.

Holmes and Watson, Baker Streets most famed residents, are called to duty by Holmes' brother, Mycroft, in an effort to solve a mystery involving two recent murders that have brought a dark cloud over the Royal Palace Holyroodhouse in Scotland, one-time home of Mary Queen of Scots.

The detective and the doctor accept the challenge to join Mycroft in this latest adventure, doubly intrigued by the famed centuries old murder of David Rizzio, 'The Italian Secretary', who befriended Mary long ago, and was murdered for his troubles at Holyroodhouse as well, and whose spirit is still rumoured to wander the halls of the palace.

The two Holmes brothers and Watson set off to decipher the obvious and not so obvious clues to unravel the murders...and as is always the case with Sherlock Holmes, nothing is quite what it seems.

An entertaining follow up to the Sherlock Holmes legend created by Arthur Conan Doyle, this is a light, easy read, but nonetheless entertaining from beginning to end.

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reviews: page 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10

Mycroft Holmes?s encoded message to his brother, Sherlock, is unsubtle enough even for Dr. Watson to decipher: a matter concerning the safety of Queen Victoria herself calls them to Edinburgh?s Holyrood House to investigate the confounding and gruesome deaths of two young men?horrific incidents that took place with her highness in residence. The victims were crushed in a manner surpassing human power. And while recent attempts on her majesty?s life raise a number of possibilities, these intrigues also seem strangely connected to an act of evil that took place centuries earlier?

For indeed, the slaying of David Rizzio, music master and friend to Mary Queen of Scots, was an extraordinarily brutal and treacherous act?even for a time when brutality and treachery were the order of the day. Now, the ghosts of Holyrood House are being reawakened by someone with a diabolical agenda of greed, madness, and terror as Holmes and Watson set out to trap a killer who is eager to rewrite history in blood...

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